Prime Minister Narendra Modi's live programme consisting of a speech and interactive session on Teacher's Day was watched widely. I too watched the programme and saw Modi striking a cord with students effortlessly by creating humour every now and then. It was more of a pleasant pep talk for character and nation building for students and teachers alike.

Extending warm greetings to the teachers, Modi stressed the need to reestablish the importance of teachers in social life and instill respect for teaching profession to draw best people towards it.

Modi said that Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan had done a great service to the nation with humility who had never celebrated his birthday and insisted that the birthday of a teacher should be rather observed.

He stressed the need for making education the process of living a meaningful life. He explained it through a Chinese saying which tells that those who think only for a year, they sow food grains, those who thinks for a decade, they plant fruits. But those who thinks for generations, they prepare humans.

He reiterated his intent of providing toilets for girls in all schools by the end of this year. He requested the teachers to create an enabling environment for this endeavour. He cited the example of Japan, where in schools; teachers and the students together clean the school including toilets.

Modi called upon the senior people of the country such as doctors, lawyers, IAS officers or IPS officers to volunteer to teach in a school for at least one period after deciding appropriate subject with the school. He suggested that nation-building needed to become people's movement by aligning everybody's strength.

He underlined the importance of technology in teaching and requested older teachers to learn its use for the sake of children who are growing in the age of technology. Both children and teachers should be well versed with modern science and technology, he said.

He advised children to enjoy their childhood by sweating it out at least four times in a day; unburdening themselves from TV, textbooks and computer; having hobby of reading books outside your curriculum like reading autobiographies or even comics.

"On the Teachers' Day I salute all the teachers and extend my best wishes to them. Teachers have played a vital role in building lives of many of us. I feel indebted to them for that," said Modi while concluding his speech.

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